KAMI, OR KUMUL 483 



Chinese, and were it not for the determination of their 

 Khan to preserve their " nationality " (in order, no 

 doubt, to preserve his chieftainship), his subjects would 

 already have lost their individuality, and, perhaps, 

 have broken away from his rule. 



In a great many cases the men wore a strange mixture 

 of Chinese and Chanto dress, replacing the Chanto 

 " khalat " by a Chinese coat, but always retaining the 

 typical Turkish skull-cap as head-gear, this being worn 

 in winter without, and in summer with, a turban. Some- 

 times complete Chinese costume was worn ; this was 

 especially noticed at the Court of the Khan, in defer- 

 ence no doubt to Chinese officialdom ; and in these 

 cases the '* get-up " was duplicated even to a mock- 

 pigtail. The women-folk on the other hand, had not 

 taken so readily to Chinese ways, for, although they 

 copied the Chinese custom of painting their faces, and 

 occasionally donned coats of gaudily coloured Chinese 

 silks in preference to their own more picturesque 

 " chapans," this was chiefly the case in the town of 

 Kumul and amongst the more wealthy class. In the 

 mountains and outlying oases the Chinese influence had 

 not affected them. 



The women did not veil their faces, but guarded 

 their good looks from strange eyes with equal success by 

 the judicious use of their coat-tails. The excessive 

 shyness of the ladies of Kumul appeared strange to us 

 after the easy manners of the Mongols and the Kirghiz 

 and even of the Chanto emigrants in Dzungaria. In 

 Kumul it was almost impossible to catch a glimpse of a 

 woman in the streets. They were as shy as rabbits, and 

 dived into their houses when they saw us approaching, 

 and even locked the doors until we were well past ! It 



